PetroSA Seeks Acquisition to Hit S. Africa Fuel-Sale Goal

Oct. 24 (Bloomberg) -- PetroSA, South Africa’s state oil
company, is looking for an acquisition target as it pursues a
goal of supplying a quarter of the fuel needs in the continent’s
largest economy by 2020, from about 5 percent now.

“We’ve got an aspiration to enter into the downstream
market by way of an acquisition,” Chief Executive Officer
Nosizwe Nokwe-Macamo told reporters in Johannesburg today at a
strategic update presentation by the company. “How we do that
is something that is not yet completely defined. We would love
to acquire one of the companies in this country.”

The state-owned company is considering buying a controlling
stake in Engen Petroleum Ltd., the nation’s biggest fuel
retailer, from Malaysian state oil producer Petroliam Nasional
Bhd., people with knowledge of the matter said in July. Nokwe-Macamo didn’t identify any potential acquisition targets today.

PetroSA is making efforts to be a “leading energy company
in Africa,” Nokwe-Macamo said. The Cape Town-based company also
plans a $10 billion oil refinery with China Petroleum & Chemical
Corp. that will almost double the country’s capacity to process
crude oil into fuels.

The feasibility study on the Mthombo refinery is expected
to be finished at the end of 2014, with the next step being an
engineering design study followed by an investment decision, she
said.

Gas Supplies

Ensuring the supply of raw materials for the company’s
Mossel Bay gas-to-liquids refinery is a key focus, Nokwe-Macamo
said. PetroSA is drilling off the south coast of South Africa to
supply the 45,000-barrel-a-day plant, which was running at about
50 percent capacity because of lower gas supply, Thabo Kgogo,
vice president of operations, said in July.

PetroSA also plans to build an import terminal for
liquefied natural gas on the south coast that could cost as much
as $510 million.

The company will conduct due diligence on Engen for three
to six months before deciding on a purchase from Petronas, as
the Malaysian state oil and gas producer is known, the people
with knowledge of the matter said in July, citing a speech to
employees by Engen CEO Ahmad Nizam Salleh. Petronas holds 80
percent of Cape Town-based Engen and Pembani Group Ltd. the
rest.